Description
The Chacoan peccary also known as the tagua or Chaco peccary in their natural environment inhabit exclusively the Gran Chaco – low forests located only in parts of the territories of Bolivia, Argentina and Paraguay.
Discovery. From 1972 to 1975, an expedition to the western Gran Chaco in Paraguay revealed the first indications that the mysterious peccary, thought extinct for thousands of years, was still alive. This discovery was an unprecedented milestone. For the first time in modern history, the existence of the Chaco peccary was scientifically documented. Even at that time, the species was very rare, and its situation in the wild has continued to deteriorate.
The forests of the Gran Chaco are being converted to soybean crops and pastures, and the tagua population has fallen far below 4,500 individuals. Expansion of agricultural activities is causing a significant loss of biodiversity. According to research by Global Forest Watch, 35% (1.2 million hectares) of primary rainforest in Paraguay was lost between 2002 and 2024.
The peccary faces two main threats: primarily from humans and natural predators such as jaguars and pumas.
If you are interested in this topic, please read: http://tinyurl.com/Chaco-vanishing
What we do
We support the Tagua Project run by Centro Chaqueño para la Conservación e Investigación (CCCI) – The Chaco Conservation and Research Center in Paraguay.
